(TheIndependentStar.com) – In a bizarre and rather unsettling case, a Detroit judge put a teen girl in handcuffs and jail clothes during a field trip the girl was a member of, leading to a lawsuit accusing the magistrate of subjecting the student to humiliation, illegal detention, and false arrest.
Attorneys representing the teenager who was compelled to don jail attire and was handcuffed during an educational visit to a Detroit courtroom have initiated legal action against the presiding judge.
This legal action emerges as a consequence of an incident involving Judge Kenneth King, who targeted 15-year-old Eva Goodman for ostensibly sleeping and displaying what he perceived as a negative demeanor during her visit to the 36th District Court on August 13.
The controversy surrounding this event led to Judge King being relieved of his courtroom responsibilities pending the completion of required training, which has yet to begin, The Associated Press reports, cited by Newsmax.
The lawsuit vehemently describes King’s actions as “extreme and outrageous and calculated for the purpose of inflicting fear and severe emotional distress.”
The legal claim demands compensation exceeding $75,000, highlighting the severity of the emotional and psychological impact alleged.
The incident unfolded during a field trip organized by The Greening of Detroit, a nonprofit group. Eva Goodman, the student involved, reportedly fell asleep during the visit.
Her mother later suggested that her fatigue could be attributed to their lack of a stable living situation, implying that the young girl’s rest was compromised by their housing insecurity.
Judge King attributed the punitive measures — which included the teenager being dressed in jail attire and handcuffed, and subsequently threatened with juvenile detention in a session that was livestreamed — to Goodman’s purportedly poor attitude.
“I wanted this to look and feel very real to her, even though there’s probably no real chance of me putting her in jail,” he told a television station last week, defending his actions.
The legal team of Gary Felty Jr. and James Harrington articulated in the lawsuit that King “acted as producer, broadcaster, complaining witness, arresting officer, finder of fact, judge, and disciplinarian.”
This multifaceted role assumed by the judge during the incident is central to the accusations of overreach and misconduct.
In a poignant reflection on the judge’s conduct, the teenager’s mother, Latoreya Till, characterized Judge King as a “big bully,” encapsulating her perspective on the intimidation and undue stress her daughter endured as a result of the incident.
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